Thursday, April 15, 2010

In the good spirit of welcoming all the new Caps fans aboard for the Stanley Cup playoffs, The Peerless has scared up a quiz that young and old Caps fan alike can take to test their knowledge of Caps Stanley Cup playoff history.

Question 1. Billy Smith was…

A. Elvis Presley’s first cousin
B. A New York Islanders goalie with a reputation for orneriness and a quick stick
C. An English footballer
D. A painting
E. All of the Above

2. Bob Gould was…

A. The player who scored the first playoff goal in Caps history
B. The player who scored the most shorthanded goals in a single playoff series for the Caps
C. Once a member of the Atlanta Flames
D. Once fought Mario Lemieux and ended the fight with one-punch.
E. All of the above

3. Pat Lafontaine was…

A. A 1950’s crooner famous on the Lawrence Welk Show
B. A former New York Islander who ended a four-overtime game against the Caps with a game-winning goal
C. A three-year old who finished sixth in the 1974 Kentucky Derby
D. A famous voice-over artist who made more than 5,000 film trailers
E. All of the above

4. Larry Murphy was…

A. A Hall-of-Fame defenseman
B. On four Stanley Cup-winning teams in the 1990’s, the only player in the NHL to accomplish the feat
C. A Caps defenseman remembered long after his departure, every time an opposing player is "whooped” on the ice.
D. The player who sprung Dale Hunter free for the playoff series-clinching overtime goal against the Philadelphia Flyers in 1988
E. All of the Above

5. Jim Schoenfeld was…

A. Famous for arguing with referee Don Koharski after a playoff game (while coaching the New Jersey Devils), and after Koharski fell down (or was pushed), telling the referee, "Good, 'cause you fell, you fat pig! Have another doughnut! Have another doughnut!"
B. The only Caps coach to win over the Pittsburgh Penguins in a playoff series.
C. A record artist
D. Once the NHL leader with a plus-minus of plus-60
E. All of the Above

6. John Druce was…

A. A player who scored 14 goals in 15 playoff games in one playoff year for the Caps
B. A player who tied a record for goals scored in a playoff series
C. A member of the last Winnipeg Jets team that had a winning record
D. Dale Hunter's roomate on the road
E. All of the Above

7. “Choking Dogs” refers to…

A. The artists who recorded “Take the Caps to the Cup” in 1987
B. A term of affection bestowed on the Caps by Washington Post columnist Tony Kornheiser
C. A film short by Quentin Tarantino
D. A defensive scheme developed by Ron Wilson to try to slow down the Detroit Red Wings in the 1998 Stanley Cup final
E. All of the Above

8. Bryan Murray was…

A. The first Jack Adams Award winner in Caps history (for outstanding coach)
B. The winningest coach in Caps history
C. Named coach of the Caps in midseason, stepping up from the Hershey Bears of the AHL
D. Replaced himself as coach in midseason by his brother
E. All of the Above

9. Five Caps players have worn sweater numbers in the “90’s”. One never appeared in a playoff series for the Caps. Who is it?

1. E, All of the Above. But Billy Smith WAS a goaltender for the Islanders who had a 9-3 record in playoff games against the Caps.

2. E, All of the Above. First goal in the 1983 playoff series against the Islanders, two shorthanded goals against the Flyers in 1988, he played one game for the Atlanta Flames before they moved to Calgary, and yes, he did end Mario Lemieux’ night on March 20, 1987.

3. B. Pat Lafontaine ended the 1987 playoff for the Caps by scoring a goal off the post in the fourth overtime on Easter Sunday morning; the Islanders won the series, 4-3. Oh, and Don LaFontaine was the voice-over artist.

4. E, All of the Above. Murphy is in the Hall of Fame, he won two Cups in Pittsburgh and two in Detroit (none with the Caps), he was the first player “whooped” at Caps home games whenever took possession of the puck, and he was the player who sprung Dale Hunter free for the most famous call in Caps history by play-by-play announcer Mike Fornes… “…Murphy starts the rush… he hits Hunter…he’s in alone…a shot…and a GOAL!!!!!"

5. E, All of the Above. The doughnut moment might be Schoenfeld’s most famous in his hockey career, but he did coach the Caps to their only series win over Pittsburgh (1994), did in fact record two albums (“Schony” and “The Key is Love”), and led the NHL in plus-minus in 1979-1980 as a defenseman with the Buffalo Sabres.

6. A, B, and C. Druce scored 14 goals in 15 games in the 1990 Stanley Cup playoffs; his nine goals in the series against the Rangers that season tied a record held at the time by Jari Kurri (Edmonton) and Tim Kerr (Philadelphia), and he was a member of the last Winnipeg Jets team with a winning record (playing 50 games for the 1992-1993 Jets). As for the rooming with Dale Hunter, we have no idea.

7. B. Every spring, it seemed, when the cherry blossoms fell from the trees, and the Caps fell out of the playoffs in the 1980’s, Tony would be there to resurrect his “choking dogs” label for the Caps.

8. E, All of the Above. Murray won the Jack Adams in 1984, his 343 wins is tops in Caps history, did assume the duties as head coach of the Caps in 1981 after coaching the Bears to start the 1981-1982 season (where he was AHL Coach of the Year the previous season), and he was replaced by his brother Terry as coach of the Caps in 1990.

9. C, Rick Tocchet. Tocchet played in 13 games for the Caps in the 1996-1997 seaason, but the Caps did not make the playoffs that year.

10. C, Semyon Varlamov (13, last year). We don’t much care if that record gets broken this year, just so long as a Caps goalie gets 16 wins.

-- Three of four games won by the road (read: lower seeded) team last night… convenient warning sign for the Caps to ponder going into tonight’s game. You fight for 82 games to get home ice advantage, you can lose it in 60 minutes.

-- Think a defenseman with offensive skill is a luxury? Look at the New Jersey Devils with six forwards on the ice at the end of last night’s game against the Flyers.

-- The hockey gods are a fickle bunch… Craig Adams, who has yet to score a regular season goal for Pittsburgh, gets his fourth playoff goal in 25 post-season games for the Penguins. Then the gods left an edge showing on the boards behind Marc-Andre Fleury that knocked a hard around back out in front of the net. Fleury was behind the cage looking to cut off the dump-in. Chris Kelly says, “thank you, hockey gods.”

-- The Flyers had 24 shot attempts last night. I will repeat that… the Flyers had 24 shot attempts last night. Not 24 shots. Not 24 shot attempts in the first period. 24 shot attempts… for the game… over 60 minutes. No Flyer had more than two shots on goal.

-- There were two goaltender interference calls made last night – one in Phoenix, one in New Jersey, both against the home team. Maybe there is something to this paying attention to running the goaltender. Well, it’s early.

-- Last night’s theme… “Rise of the No-Name.” Mike Richards got a game-winning goal (you’ve heard of him). But the others were scored by Chris Stewart, Derek Morris, and Jarkko Ruutu.

-- And Morris… 1-2-3 for the night? He was 1-3-4 for the 18 regular season games he played for Phoenix. Well, it’s early.

-- Sidney Crosby finished the game upright and with three assists, and didn’t get a star in his own rink? Huh…

-- OK, we get giving Craig Anderson, Ryan Clowe (sort of), and Scott Hannan stars in the Colorado/San Jose game, but Paul Stastny should get a slice o’ pie… 20-plus minutes, two assists, plus-1, a blocked shot, and he took 24 of the 53 total draws for Colorado, winning 14 of them.

-- Ilya Kovalchuk was the most dangerous man on the ice in the first period of the Devils/Flyers game, but he finished with ten shot attempts, four shots on goal, no points, and a bit of an embarrassing face-plant in the third period as he was rushing into the Flyers’ zone with the puck. Trying to do too much?

WE INTERRUPT OUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING

The Washington Capitals enter the 2016-2017 as one of 12 franchises in the NHL never to win a Stanley Cup. Of that group, only the St. Louis Blues (48 seasons), Buffalo Sabres (45 seasons), and Vancouver Canucks (45 seasons) have gone longer never having won a Cup than the Capitals (41 seasons). Six teams came into the league after the Capitals entered the league in 1974-1975 and have won Stanley Cups: Colorado Rockies/New Jersey Devils (1976-1977), Edmonton Oilers (1979-1980), Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche (1979-1980), Hartford Whalers/Carolina Hurricanes (1979-1980), Tampa Bay Lightning (1992-1993), and the Anaheim Ducks (1993-1994).

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